News

Jack and Kathy Anderson Endowment Fund

May 1, 2015

Jack and Kathy Anderson at Victoria Fall, Zimbabwe in November 2012

A 1959 graduate of New Castle High School, Jack Anderson, along with his wife Kathy, wanted to find a way to give back to his hometown community. Though he currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, Anderson has spent significant time teaching biology in Tehran, Iran, Laos, and Venezuela. Those experiences demonstrated to the Andersons the importance of students learning and discovering new languages and cultures. They were inspired to begin the Jack and Kathy Anderson Endowment Fund at the Henry County Community Foundation.

Their goal is that through this fund, students will have more opportunities to learn about people’s different languages and cultures. The Jack and Kathy Anderson Endowment Fund can be used to expand students’ foreign language and culture experience, whether that be through international travel, classes, or mentoring programs. These activities can be offered through local schools or other qualified social services or programs provided through civic organizations that develop a greater understanding of a specific culture.

“I wonder how things would have been different if I would have learned to speak a foreign language,” Jack commented. “Certainly traveling to countries where different languages are spoken would have been more fulfilling. I would have felt much more a part of the culture and been accepted by local people with more respect.”

The fund will offer young people in this community an opportunity for personal growth that leads to the mastery of a foreign language and will promote for more international knowledge of how their community relates to the world outside the United States, bridging understanding and cooperation. Anderson’s hope is that this fund will better prepare students for business and human relations with people of diverse cultures and customs. For more information about the Jack and Kathy Anderson Endowment Fund and how the fund monies can be used, contact the Henry County Community Foundation at 765-529-2235 or carly@henrycountycf.org.